Govt moots action plan for electrification in Chhattisgarh's red zone

The ministry of power would be working out strategy and plan to electrify the villages coming under the pockets considered to be the hotbed of Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

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“A separate plan would be designed to take electricity to the villages affected by Naxal activities," said Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal in an interaction with the local media through video conferencing on Friday. It was a matter of concern that the electrification work could not be taken up in the LWE-affected areas including Dantewada, Bastar and Sukma, among others in Chhattisgarh, Goyal added.

The number of villages where electrification work could not be taken up was comparatively more in Sukma, where Naxal rebels have killed 37 CRPF officials in a period of two months, the minister said.

Government has reportedly identified 191 villages where work was stranded. Central government is also considering making renewable energy accessible in the region with a special focus on solar energy. According to Goyal, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given assurances of carrying out development in these regions without any impediments.

Goyal said the issue of electrification work in the LWE-affected pockets across the country was taken up at a high-level meeting convened by the ministry of home affairs recently. The chief ministers of six affected states attended the meeting and discussed the issue at length.